Starbucks Iced Caramel Protein Latte

The Starbucks Iced Caramel Protein Latte costs £6.75 for a Tall and carries 206 calories in a Grande with 24.2g of protein. Signature espresso, cold milk and sugar free caramel syrup go over ice, and a caramel protein cold foam sits on top.

The iced version works better than the hot one for a straightforward reason: nothing is trying to melt the foam. Protein foam holds its structure while it stays cold, so the layer that collapses within fifteen minutes on a hot latte will still be sitting there at the bottom of an iced cup twenty minutes later. That makes the drink far more forgiving if it has to survive a walk or sit on a desk.

24.2g of protein for 206 calories puts it a fraction behind the hot version at 24.4g, and the sugar is 13.5g out of 17.1g of carbohydrate, almost all of it from the milk rather than the syrup. Caffeine is 89.1mg in a Tall and Grande and 133.6mg in a Venti. Calories run 165 in a Tall, 206 in a Grande and 205 in a Venti, and that Venti figure being lower than the Grande is not an error: the larger cup takes proportionally more ice.

The Venti is the size worth thinking about here. Its calorie figure lands below the Grande because the cup takes proportionally more ice rather than more milk, so paying up buys volume rather than protein. Anyone ordering for the protein specifically gets more out of two Talls than one Venti, though the price makes that a poor trade. The Grande is the sensible middle.

Drink it without stirring for the first third and the foam gives you a thick, sweet opening before the coffee arrives. It suits a post gym stop better than almost anything else on the menu, and it is one of the few items that delivers a real protein dose without being a shake. The Iced Caramel Protein Americano is the lighter option at 102 calories, and the Caramel Protein Latte is the hot version.